Archive for May, 2020

Recent News

Governor’s reversion anniversary resolve: “Address poverty and base burden”

May 15, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On May 14, a day before the 48th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, Governor Denny Tamaki issued a statement in which he pledged to: “Continue addressing the challenges facing Okinawa, such as economic disparity with the rest of Japan, childhood poverty, and our U.S. military burden.”

 

The governor also remarked on Okinawa’s development since its reversion to Japan: “We’ve made solid progress on public infrastructure...

 

Great mozuku harvest

Great mozuku harvest

May 14, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

After a huge rainstorm the day before caused by a rainy season front, Okinawa Island was enclosed in an anticyclone and enjoyed a sunny break in the rain on May 13. Even Ishigaki Island, which experienced record rainfall, was mostly sunny. In Ishigaki...

Record-breaking rainfall of 125 mm/hr observed in early morning in Ishigaki, calls for caution on Okinawa Island as well

Record-breaking rainfall of 125 mm/hr observed in early morning in Ishigaki, calls for caution on Okinawa Island as well

May 12, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo Digital Edition

 

In the early morning on May 12, the atmosphere became extremely unstable as a result of the onset of the rainy season, and torrential rain fell primarily around the Yaeyama region. As of 7:00 a.m., record-breaking rainfall of 125 mm/hr...

Chinese ship enters the waters around the Senkaku islands to approach fishing boat from Yonaguni

May 12, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

An incident in which two Chinese coast guard ships entered the waters near the Senkaku Islands to approach a Japanese fishing boat belonging to the Yonaguni Fishing Cooperative operating about 12 kilometers west-southwest from Uotsuri Island was reported...

Photos & video: Okinawa enters rainy season

Photos & video: Okinawa enters rainy season

May 11, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

 

On May 11, the Okinawa Meteorological Observatory announced that Okinawa appeared to have entered the rainy season. Okinawa is the second regional area of Japan to enter the wet season, following the Amami area which entered its rainy season...

“The eggs are Okinawa’s pollock roe!” 76 year-old fisherman’s solo pursuit of in-season Hichiguwa

“The eggs are Okinawa’s pollock roe!” 76 year-old fisherman’s solo pursuit of in-season Hichiguwa

May 6, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Text and Photography by Hiroyuki Takatsuji

“People used to call these the fisherman’s bonus, but no one spares them a second glance in this day and age,” says Yoshikatsu Yamashiro showing the fish he caught. Katsu, as his friends call him, is a suntanned...

Teachers at Ohama Elementary School in Ishigagi write message for children in flowers on the sports ground, “It will certainly be soon”

Teachers at Ohama Elementary School in Ishigagi write message for children in flowers on the sports ground, “It will certainly be soon”

May 7, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Ishigaki – In order to cheer up the children whose school has been closed due to the spread of the coronavirus, the teachers at Ohama Elementary school in Ishigaki (Takashi Urasaki, principal) wrote out a message using flower boxes that said, “Beat the coronavirus...

Ninth Circuit deems DOD judgment “reasonable” in possible final ruling of “dugong case”

Ninth Circuit deems DOD judgment “reasonable” in possible final ruling of “dugong case”

May 9, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled against the Japanese and American environmental groups that brought a “dugong suit” against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in an effort to stop the construction of a new military...

As Okinawan mangoes and pineapples begin to ripen, a call goes out for locals to consume the harvest to overcome the headwinds created by the coronavirus

As Okinawan mangoes and pineapples begin to ripen, a call goes out for locals to consume the harvest to overcome the headwinds created by the coronavirus

May 5, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Erina Ishii

 

Okinawan mangoes and pineapples are popular all throughout Japan as high-class gifts. However, as the coronavirus pandemic will now extend later into the year, anxieties have arisen around slumping sales in the summer. Farmers, who...

Editorial: Safeguarding democracy in a pandemic surveillance state

May 1, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Is intolerance plaguing our society as we become engulfed in the crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic? The increasing downplaying of our freedom and rising social pressure is alarming.

Prefectures have requested businesses to shut down and urged...

Okinawa prefectural government expert committee recommends continuing call for visitors to avoid travel to Okinawa, suggests “coexistence with coronavirus”

Okinawa prefectural government expert committee recommends continuing call for visitors to avoid travel to Okinawa, suggests “coexistence with coronavirus”

May 5, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 4, in light of the national government’s decision to extend Japan’s state of emergency regarding the coronavirus, a committee of experts formed by the Okinawa prefectural government held a meeting at the Okinawa Prefectural Medical Association hall in Haebaru...